Furnace-fire-arch construction



5 Oct-27,1925- 1,558,819

R. H. KUSS FURNACE FIRE ARCH CONSTRUCTION Filed May 12, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fa/W? W R, H, KU$S FURNACES FIRE ARCH CONSTRUGTION 2 Shasta-Sheet 2 Film May 120 1921 Ill-A Patented a. 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. RUSS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 K-R FURNACE COMPANY, A

\ CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FURNACE-FIRE-ARCH cousrnuc'rroiv.

Application filed May 12,- 1921. Serial No. 468,926.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT H. KUss, a

citizen of the United States, of Chicago,

Cook County, Illinois, have invented a certain-new and useful Improvement in Furnace-Fire-Arch Construction, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire arch construction for furnaces in eneral, but more particularly to those involving a frame or metal structure upon which the refractory blocks are removably supported, and more especially to those in which said frame comprises hanger bars which are also removable, whereby-repairs can be made when necessary.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved con struction whereby the blocks of the arch are supported by hanger bars having a gratelike formation, thereby to prevent warping and burning out of the bars, and whereby the blocks are easily and conveniently placed in position or moved when necessary.

Another object is to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby, in conjunction with the said hanger bars, which desirably form a grate-like structure for supporting the blocks,means are provided for supplying air, preferably through the transverse supporting member of the arch, through passages in the structure to the fire below the arch, thus not only cooling the structure by the admission of outside air thereto, but also improving the combustion by the admission of heated air to the gases and products of combustion rising from the burning and coking fuel on the furnace grate below the arc t It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general efliciency and the desirability of a furnace fire arch construction of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists inmatters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying' drawings in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view showing a furnace equipped with a fire arch embodying the principles of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the hanger bars for supporting the blocks of the fire arch.

Figure 3 is a plan of the said hanger bar. F1gure 4 is an enlarged side elevation of another hanger bar involved in said fire in Figure 6, lookng in the direction indicated by the arrows. Figure 9 is a vertical section on line 99 111 Figure 6, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. it being understood that this figure, like Figures 7 and 8, is on a larger scale than Figure 6, and that portions of the construction are shown broken away for convenience of illustration.

Figure 10 is a front elevation of the damper provided for admitting air to the interior of the fire arch construction.

As thus illustrated, the invention com prises the combustion chamber 1, having a grate 2 of any suitable or desired construction for supporting the burning and coking fuel in front of the bridge wall 3 in the usual and well known manner. The boiler 4 is of any suitable known or approved character and is arranged in the usual manner toextend over the combustion chamber. 4

The fire arch construction comprises a transverse member 5 supported at its ends in the side walls or masonry of the furmace, and provided with front and rear flanges 6 and 7, the latter being somewhat wider than the other flange, and the said flange 6 having lugs or projections'8 on its" upper side along the edge thereof. It will channel formation, so that it has a chamber or passage 9 therein. One. of the side walls of the furnace, or both, is provided with a damper 10 of any suitable character, opening to the atmosphere, to cool air be seen that the member 5 is of inverted 4 to the chamber or passage 9, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The front hanger bars 11 are each composed of a vertical web having teeth or projections ,12 alternating with'spaces 13 (see Figure 2) along the lower edge thereof, at its opposite sides, so that the bar resembles a fuel grate bar.

Said r is provided with .longitudinal' shoulders 14 to support the blocks 15 in front of the boiler and these blocks are covered with cement 16 or anything else that will seal the upper surface of the roof like structure formedby the blocks and other portions of the flat arch thus provided, and serve the purpose. At one end the bar is provided with a hook-like portion 17 to enga e one of the lugs or projections 8 previously mentioned. At its other end said bar is secured by bolts 18 to the front plate 19 of the furnace, which plate extends transversely and forms one of the supports of the arch construction. -The rear hanger bars 20 are each composed of a vertical web having lateral teeth or projections alternating with spaces 21 alon the lower edge thereof, so that these teet 22 are spaced apart like the teeth 12 previously mentioned, and whereby the bars 20 have a grate-like formation. Each-bar 20 is provided with upwardly extending engaging portions 23 which are adapted to rest upon different portions of the i H 65 the projections 24 provided along the lower inside edges of the chamber 9 previously mentioned, spaces 25 being left between the projections to permit the portions 23 to be inserted upwardly and then moved laterally until they rest on the projections 24 in the manner shown. It will also be seen that each bar 20 has its inner or rear end provided with a nose 26, and also with a lip or flange 27, the latter resting upon the flange 7 previously mentioned. The bars 20, it will'be seen, are in alignment with the bars 11, and the teeth or projections 12 and 22 are all in the same horizontal plane. These teeth or projections are rounded on their lower edges, as shown in Figures 7 and '8, and the blocks 28 have slots 29 formed in the upper portions thereof to receive said teeth or projections, each block having shoulders 30 which extend over and upon said'teeth 12 and 22, in the manner shown, whereby the blocks are supported tightly together by the said gratelike hanger bars. Blocks 31 are provided and formed to engagethe nose 26 of the bars 20, thereby. covering the ends of the longitudinal and parallel passages formed by the slots 29 in the blocks28, which passages receive the air from the chamber 9, so that the air circulates freelyaround the grate-like metal structure upon which the blocks of the arch are hung. Brackets plates 32 are secured to the wall- 19, and the bars 11 rest upon these plates in the manner shown, and vertical passages 33 are thus formed between th plate or wall 19 and the blocks 28 to permit the air to be discharged downwardly at the front of the combustlon chamber.

It is well known that the construction of an ordinary fuel grate in the customary manner, by means of grate bars having teeth along the sides thereof, and certain other features, is for certain well understood scientific and practical reasons, mostly with respect to the desirability of. preventing the bars from warping and burning out under the load and strain imposed thereon by the burning fuel, and the alternate heating and cooling and consequent alternate expansion and contraction of the bars: Bearing in mind, therefore, these principles and theories of furnace grate construction which tend to prolong the life of the grate. as well as to facilitate the installation of the grate structure and the repairing thereof when necessary, it will be seen that some of these principles are involved in and taken advantage of in the construction of the grate-like structure upon which the blocks of the fire arch are hung or supported: The hanger bars 11 and 20 support the highly heated arch blocks 28 and 31 in a satisfactory manner, and carry the load and sustain the strain in much the same manner that a fuel grate carries the burning fuel, in the sense that the grate-like structure provided is so formed that the air can circulate freely therein, thus preventing the gratelike bars from burning out. In addition, as shown and described, the bars 11 and 20 are formed with the idea of increasing the heat conduction thereof, and of preventing the bars from warping, each bar having suin'cient weight and metal along the lower edge thereof to rapidly absorb the lreat, and having a comparatively thin web extending upwardly to conduct and radiate the heat, so that the heat is quickly thrown off and absorbed by the air which circulates freely through the structure. It will be seen that the metal is omitted between the teeth 12,

and between the teeth 22, so that the con-' tinuity of the lower portion of each bar is broken or interrupted at intervals longitudinally thereof to reduce the possibility of warping where the temperature is highest in the grate-like structure which supports the blocks, and to more freely circulate the air through the structure. The air thus highly heated is discharged. as explained, into the fire below the'arch, thereby mixing with the gases to promote combustion. Of course, the face or lower surface of the fire arch is desirably maintained at high temperature to ensure the combustion of the gases in the usual manner, so that the cooling effect of the air circulating through the fire arch structure is desirably merely sufficient to prevent the grate-like hanger bars from becoming too highly heated, without materially reducing the temperature of the under side or face of the arch. Thus the air passes through the grate-like structure formed by the bars 11 and 20 and thendownwardly into the fire, thereby not only supplying heated air to the combustion chamber, with cally smooth and unbroken and without cracks or crevices or openlngs therein.-

Afterward, of course, the blocks 31 are adjusted in position, and thereafter it is easy to remove the blocks wheneverit may become necessary to replace old or worn out blocks with new ones, or when this is necessa1I'y or desirable for any other purpose.

. n 'StlllCtlOIl most likely to burn outis the inner end portion, shown in Figure 6, supported by hanger bars 20. The purpose, therefore, of providing detachable hanger bars is to facilitate the replacement of portions of the supporting structure without disturbing the main portions supported by bars 11, such replacement and repairing being made more convenient by reason of the absence of bolts, or other similar fastening devices.

It being desirable to regulate the amount of air admitted into channel 9, whereby neither too much nor too little will be introduced into the chamber within the arch, the

adjustable damper or grid construction 10' is provided, as stated, and 'with this arrangement the admission of air may be controlled at will. In some situations, or in some uses of thei nvention, channel member 9 also serves to support masonry for any suitable or desired purpose.

With the arrangement shown, it will be seen that air is d scharged downwardly to an area much greater than the area of the transverse hollow supporting member 5, inasmuch as the roof with the air passages therein extends in front. and in rear of this member. Therefore, when the air is discharged from the bottom of thismember 5, it travels forward to the front wall 19 of -the furnace, and travels in the other direction to the portion 31 of the roof construction, and also downwardly to the combustion chamber below the arch.' Thus the air is freeto circulate over the. blocks 28, and through the channels formed in .thetops of these blocks, and is free to circ'ulate or pass under the hanger bars 11, so'that these bars which constitute the sup orting structure of the blocks will be cooled by the airjwhich enters through the damper 10 from the atmosphere. Eventually, of course, the air which thus enters freely from the atmosractice the portion of the arch conphere for the purpose of cooling the arch structure, finally passes downward to the fire, or into the s ace below the arch, in the manner explaine Thus the air is admitted to the overhead fire arch structure through the side of the furnace, and is caused to then move toward the front of the furnace, and is then discharged downwardly upon the fresh fuel which has just been delivered to the upper end of the grate, and the air thus supplied is mixed with the smoke and products of combustion and taken out of the combustion chamber between the inner end of theoverhead fire arch and the top of the bridge wall 3, in a manner to insure combustion of the gases and the volatile elements taken off from the fresh fuel.

Thus when the blocks 31 forming the rear end of the arch are removed, by lifting them up and off from the upturned rear end portions 2f of the hanger bars, the blocks 28 can then be displaced by sliding them rearwardly on the hanger bars, and when these blocks are thus taken off the hangers bars can be moved laterally until the pertions 23 are in position to drop down through the spaces provided inside of the transverse hollow member 5 which supplies the air. Then, obviously, the hanger bars can be moved rearwardly from engagement with the flange 7 upon which the portions 27 are supported. In this way, the blocks directly engage the hanger bars, and the hanger bars have rigid means directly engaging the transverse members 5, and the blocks and the bars are removable without in any way disturbing said hollow member- 5 u on which the bars are suspended.

ithout disclaiming anything, and with out prejudice to any novelty disclosed, what I claim as my invention is z y 1. In furnace fire arch construction, the combination of a transverse hollow metal supporting member, blocks forming the lower surface of the arch, parallel means to engage the blocks in a plane below said member, extending longitudinallyfrom block to block to hold the blocks in longitudinal rows, sothat the members of each row all directly engage the .same horizontal support, having provisions for the circulation and passage of cooling air over the blocks and around the supporting means and down to the space below the arch, thereby means for supporting the blocks comprisv 'ing removable grate-like hanger bars having pro'ections alternating with spaces forming sai provisions for the circulation of air,

and said blocks being strung one after the other on said bars to rest on said projectors,

. with spaces forming air passages in the blocks below said bars.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, said means for supporting the blocks comprising hanger bars hung on said member, so that the latter serves the double purpose of supplyin the air and supporting the blocks.

4. structure as specified in claim 1, said member being of inverted channel formation and having means along the lower edges thereof tosupport said means for sup porting the blocks.

5. A structure as specified in claim 1, said provisions comprising means forming passages longitudinally in the blocks, and vertical passages communicating therewith at the front of the arch structure.

6. In furnace fire arch construction, the combination of a transverse metal supporting member, grate-like hanger bars hung on said member, each bar comprising a vertical web having projections alternating with air spaces along the lower portion thereof, and blocks removably strung one after the other on each bar.

7. A structure as specified in claim 6, some of said bars being directly under said member, and other bars being in front of and formed to extend over one edge portion of said member.

8. A structure as specified in claim 6, said member having outer front and rear flanges and inner projections, some of said hanger bars having means .to engage said rear flange and said inner' projections, so that these bars are supported under said member, while the other bars rest on said front flange, means to support the front ends of said other bars, blocks removably hung on the front ends of the bars which are supported under said member, said other bars having flanges forming shoulders, and blocks supported on these shoulders.

9. A structure as specified in claim 6, said bars comprising a front group extending upon said member, and a rear group hung on thebottom of said member, the bars of the front group being in line with the bars of the rear group, and said projections on all of the bars being disposed in the same 7 horizontal plane.

10. A structure as specified in claim 6, said bars comprising a front group and a rear group, a covering extending over and upon the front group. i

11. A furnace fire arch construction comprising blocks and hanger bars therefor hav-' ing a grate-like formation and arangeimposed thereon by the weight of said blocks and by the alternate heating and cooling thereof.

12. A structure as specified in claim 11, said bars each comprising a web disposed in a vertical plane and provided with lateral projections alternating with spaces along the sides thereof. I

13. A structure as specified in claim'll, and means for supplying air through said graltle-like structure to the fire below the arc 14. A structure as specified in claim 11, and a transverse passa e for supplying outside air to said grate-1i e structure, together with provisions to discharge the air downwardly to the fire below the arch.

15. In a furnace fire arch construction, means extending transversely of the furnace and across the arch to receive and discharge cooling air over and into the arch, for cooling the arch structure, said arch having means for then discharging all of the heate d air, downwardly at the front of the furnace, to and over the fuel below the arch, an inclined grate below the arch, disposed in position to receive the fresh fuel at the front of the furnace and directly under the said supply of heated air discharged downwardly from the front end of said arch construction, and a bridge wall at the lower end of the grate, toward which the fuel moves on said grate, and over which said air and the products of combustion pass out from under the rear end of said arch.

16. In a furnace fire arch construction,-

blocks and longitudinal hanger bars there for, each bar extending into and having a plurality of blocks strung thereon, and means to circulate cooling air over the blocks and through the arch structure and around and under the said bars. A

'17. A structure as specified in claim 16, said bars having a grate-like formation tending to increase heat conduction therein and to prevent the warping and burning out thereof.

18. A structure as specified in claim 16, having provisions to discharge the air downwardly in the fire below the arch.

19. A structure as specified in claim 16, having provisions to take the air in from the outside and discharge it into the fire below the arch.

20. In a furnace arch construction, the combination of a transverse supporting member having supporting means, removable hanger bars hung below and upon said supporting means of said member, each bar being formedwith integral engaging means directly engageable with and disengageable from said member at intermediate points in the length of said member, whereby said bars are parallel and extend longitudinally of the furnace, and blocks exposed to the fire and removably strung on said bars, so that each bar directly engages a purality of blocks forming a fire arch over the combustion chamber, said blocks being removable from the rear ends of said bars, and said bars being then displaceable sidewise and downwardly and thereby removable without disturbing said member 21. A structure as specified in claim 20, said bars and member being relatively formed to obviate the necessity of using bolts or rivets or similar fastening means, so that by removing the blocks the bars are thereby free to be displaced sidewise and then removed from the structure.

22. A structure as specified in claim 20, said bars having upturned rear end portions, and blocks supported on said upturned end portions to form the inner end of the arch.

23. A structure as specified in claim 20, said transverse member being hollow and open at its lower side, in combination with means for admitting cooling air through said transverse member, with provisions in the arch to circulate the cooling air to cool the structure thereof.

24. A structure as specified in claim 20, said hanger bars and blocks being relatively formed to provide circulating passages for air in the blocks, thereby to cool the structure, and said transverse member being hollow and open at its bottom and having provisions for supplying cooling air to the arch structure.

25. A structure as specified in claim 20, said transverse member being hollow and open at its bottom and having means for admitting air to the arch structure, and said structure having means for finally discharging said air downwardly to the space below the arch at the front of the furnace.

26. In furnace arch construction, the combination of a transverse supporting member having external supporting means, removable hanger bars hung below and upon said external supporting means of said member,

ting cooling air through said transverse member, with provisions in the arch to circulate the cooling air to cool the structure thereof.

27. In furnace arch construction, the combination of a transverse supporting member having external supporting means, removable hanger bars hung below and upon saidexternal supporting means of said member, so that said bars are parallel and extend longitudinally of the furnace, and blocks removably strung on said bars, so each bar engages a plurality of blocks, said hangers bars and blocks being relatively. formed to provide circulating passages for air in the blocks, thereby to cool the str icture and said transverse member being hollow and open at its bottom and having provisions for supplying cooling air to the arch structure.

28. In furnace arch construction, the combination of a transverse supporting member having external supporting means, removable hanger bars hungbelow and upon said external supporting means of said member, so that said bars are parallel and extend longitudinally of the furnace, and blocks iemovably strung on said bars, so that each bar engages a plurality of blocks, said transverse member being hollow and open at its bottom and having means for admitting air, to the arch structure, and said structure having means for finally discharging said air downwardly to the space below the arch. 29. A structure as specified in claim 20, and other bars in alinement with said first mentioned bars, blocks thereon, said last mentioned bars engaging said external means on said transverse member at one end, and means to support these other bars at the other end.

ROBERT H. KUSS. 

